Harry Potter and the Search for the Dot
by Lizzy Anne89
Summary: Harry is searching for something, a DOT! What is this DOT, who is this DOT? It seems like everyone but us knows. A short story that takes you through a particularly stressful afternoon in Harry's 6th year.


**Trinity: It's me again. This is a friend's story that she wanted posted, but was having some technical difficulties. So I offered to post it for her. Niether one of us owns Harry Potter.**

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Harry Potter tapped the Marauders Map with his wand and watched as staircases, classrooms, and lavatories appeared on the parchment, freckled with little dots. He was looking for one dot in particular, and after he found it in the transfiguration courtyard, he put the Map back in his pocket. Crawling out of his hiding space (a broom closet by the entrance corridor), he heard a voice dripping with venom.

"Potter. Why are you in a _closet_?"

"Erm, no reason, Professor Snape. Just uh, just…" he was lost for words.

"Leave my sight, Potter. You're just like your father, always sneaking around, up to no good." Harry had to suppress his grin at the irony of Snape's words as he walked away from the greasy-haired man.

He had to jump behind a few animated suits of armor, begging them to keep his location a secret when one of his friends would walk by. At one point in time, he even had to rush into Moaning Myrtle's lavatory to hide from Ron.

"Harry…" Myrtle appeared behind him, popping through the faucet of a broken sink. "Why have you not visited me yet this term, Harry? I've missed you." She put a transparent hand on his shoulder.

Harry managed to wriggle away, but as he was wriggling, the Marauders Map fell out of his pocket. Myrtle swooped down to see what it said, but before she could, Harry snatched it and ran out of the room, slipping on the wet floor, even falling on his bum a few times. Once out of the bathroom, he decided to duck into an empty classroom, and check the Map again. He opened it up, and (thankfully) it was dry, but that particular dot was no longer in the transfiguration courtyard!

"Blimey, this isn't easy, is it?" Harry sighed as he sat down in one of the dusty old chairs and ran his hands through his unkempt hair. "All I want is to talk! That's it! Just clear up the air!" He decided to give the Map another shot. A few minutes of carefully looking at every part of the castle (and the grounds), he finally found that elusive dot, tucked neatly away in a corner of the library. Getting up from the chair, Harry stretched his long arms over his head, then started on his way to the classroom door, but didn't get far.

"AAAHH! Ohmygoodness, Harry, _what_ are you doing in here? You nearly scared me to death!" Hermione was clutching her bookbag to her chest, and looked as if she was going to faint.

"Sorry, Hermione, Didn't know you'd be in here. I was just-"

"Nevermind, nevermind. Did you want to help me with all this? I've just gotten five more applications for S.P.E.W.! Luna, Dean, Ginny, Neville, and Ernie have all joined up!" Hermione dropped the overflowing bag onto a rickety table that looked as if it was going to snap in half.

"Actually, I really need to get going. I've got to talk to-"

"Yes, yes, I suppose you do. That's quite a mess you need to clean up. But remember, you and Ron need to write your essays for Professor Slughorn. And don't go using that book, use Ron's. And don't ask me for any help this time, I won't do it. Not unless you start doing more for S.P.E.W.. We need more members, just eight isn't going to do-" Before Hermione could finish, Harry had slipped out of the old classroom and was headed towards the library.

"Oomph!"

"Oh, sorry, mate, didn't see you there." Fred Weasley and his girlfriend, Cerridwen Jones were walking hand in hand, and obviously didn't see the tall, lanky boy in front of them, who was now on the ground.

"Eh, it's no problem. Just going to talk to-"

"Yeah, yeah, good luck on that, Harry. You'll need it." Ceri smacked Fred's arm.

"Don't worry, Harry. It'll be fine. Just be honest. It might be a bit of a mess now, but it'll get fixed." She smiled at him as she and Fred walked away. Stifling a hiss of pain (he had fallen rather hard on his bum this time), Harry stood up and started walking toward the library again.

"It's fine. It'll all be fine. I'll just tell the truth, and it'll be fine. It'll all work out, I just have to-" Harry stopped muttering to himself as he walked into the large, dimly lit library. He snuck behind the first row of bookshelves and pulled the Map out again. The little dot was still there, just a few rows from where he was. Taking a few deep breaths, Harry tried to calm himself down before going to talk to that dot.

"Harry? What are you doing here?" Harry looked down at the sight before him: Ginny Weasley, sitting on Dean Thomas' lap, with his arms around her waist.

"Um, n-nothing, Ginny. Just…" He nervously ran his hand through his hair, and scratched at an imaginary itch on his cheek. Ginny giggled, and Dean let out a snort.

"Erm, mate? You might want to go and uh, check out a mirror." He shared a look with Ginny. Harry didn't know it, but his hair was even worse than usual, mainly due to the fact that the back of his head was still wet from falling in Myrtle's bathroom. His oversize denim jeans were wet on his bum, and were also covered in dust from the chair in the old classroom. His face was freckled with bits of wet dust, making it look as though Harry had been playing in the mud. He also had a red welt on his forehead, from where he ran into Fred's elbow just a moment ago. He did _not_ look good.

"Um, alright. Will do. Just, Ginny, can I talk to you for a moment?" Harry fidgeted with his hands.

"Actually, Harry, Dean and I were going to go to the Great Hall, it's almost time to eat. I'm sorry, maybe later?" Her brown eyes stared into his green ones, making him uncomfortable and scared.

"Erm, sure. No problem. Not a problem at all. I'll just be going now." Harry backed away from his two friends, and once out of the library, began to run down the hall.

"Stupid! Stupid, stupid, git! Of course she's still with Dean! How could she not be?" Harry asked himself silently as he slowed to a walk.

"Harry! Harry, wait up!" Ginny was running up to him.

"Gin? What is it? I thought you and Dean were going to the Great Hall?" Harry asked.

"We are, but I wanted to tell you something." Harry didn't have time to brace himself, so he just stood there while Ginny kissed him. She pulled away a moment later, waved, and ran back to the library, leaving Harry with a dumbfounded look on his face.


End file.
